


Mysterious Depths

by peachsticks



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-03-17 21:39:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3544721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachsticks/pseuds/peachsticks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>i'd gotten to wondering one night what would it have been like if Fortune had actually witnessed Nautilus's re-emergence while out one night? this is my short take on it</p>
    </blockquote>





	Mysterious Depths

**Author's Note:**

> i'd gotten to wondering one night what would it have been like if Fortune had actually witnessed Nautilus's re-emergence while out one night? this is my short take on it

They had set off a day and a half ago, traveling west-northwest towards Noxus. Her jobs seemed confined to that city-state as of late but money was money and Fortune was not one to complain about where her talents were required. All that mattered was making sure to catch the slippery bastard without hurting the poor thing too much. She could get a little _enthusiastic_ when a particularly evasive crook was her current target.

Until then, she was free to enjoy the warm sea breeze as her ship skimmed smoothly over the water’s surface. Her crew was light this time; the job wasn’t expected to be too difficult or dangerous. Less men on her ship meant more freedom for her to fully enjoy the journey.

As night fell, everyone was sent off to catch a few hours of sleep before the last leg of their trip. That gave Fortune most of the darkest hours to relax and prepare herself for the work awaiting her in the shadowed alleys of Noxus. She gave one final glance at the stars to make sure her course was set correctly - keeping her path as far west as possible was important in this part of the Guardian’s Sea - then moved away from the helm and over to the starboard railing. Inhaling deeply, her eyes wandered to the horizon and watched the twinkling stars dance above the dark water line. The sky was clear and the breeze flowed around her as her body rocked with the rhythm of the gentle waves pushing against the ship’s sides. Her hands squeezed the cool metal railing as she looked at the ocean’s surface, admiring the black glass-like quality it had tonight.

A small glimmer of light caught Fortune’s eye. Not too far north of where she was standing seemed to be a faint teal glow somewhere deep underneath the surface. She rubbed her eyes and looked upwards again, but the stars were all white with a few faintly red. Leaning forward a bit, she peered more closely at the anomaly. It seemed to be moving towards her ship, as if it intended to quietly pass by on its way further south.

Curiosity perked the bounty hunter and she moved towards a nearby sail, adjusting it to slow the ship down. It was much too late in the night to consider stopping completely and don her diving gear to swim down and investigate, unfortunately, but slowing the pace might give her a better glimpse at the gradually approaching phosphorescence.

At a distance it had seemed to be small, perhaps a bottom dwelling glow-fish that had mistakenly swam too high. But as it neared Fortune’s ship, the teal light seemed to take a vague shape, as if it were outlining something massive. It moved at a consistent, unhurried pace and as it passed alongside her ship, large bubbles of air began to break on the water’s surface.

A deep, despairing melody seemed to emerge from those pockets of air, but the wind carried the soft notes away before she could grasp them. The low sounds continued as the glowing mass trudged on, an eerie feeling of hopelessness wrapping itself around Fortune’s heart.

~

"A green light walkin’ underneath our ship ye say? A light with a voice that sang ye a sad song? Are ye sure ye weren’t drunk last night tendin’ the sails and settin’ the course?" Her first mate’s broad grin and raucous laughter brought a faint blush to her cheeks.

"That was only the one time I’d accidentally had too much to drink and you know it." Fortune crossed her arms over her chest and turned her face away from the man still chuckling in front of her. Waking up this morning after a night of shadowy dreams had left her feeling frazzled - not the way she needed to feel if she were going to walk into Noxus and begin hunting for some foolish gambler who’d forgotten to pay a few important loans.

"Aye, but ye must know how ye sound, lass. There not be giant singing creatures down deep in the sea. Ye know full well what inhabits our waters - ye’ve seen and slain them with yer own damn hands. I’ll do ye a favour and keep this little fantasy to meself. If naught else, it’ll provide me a damn good chuckle on dull nights!" His laughter swelled up again and he patted her on the back before heading down to the main deck to bark docking orders at the crew.

Her eyes moved to the horizon and she sighed. She knew what she had seen was not the product of a drunken stupor. She heard those lilting notes float up from the bubbles that hit the surface. She felt the melancholy embedded within those pieces of song. She could almost feel the weight of each step forward, as if the creature below shouldered a burden unlike any other.

Her first mate kept her safe with his unshakable rationality. He wasn’t ever swayed by stories of monsters and frightening sea creatures. This is why she had him by her side.

But this time, he was wrong.


End file.
